Birkebeiners

The Birkebeiners were a populist political faction in Norway which existed from 1174 to 1240, supporting centralization and the peasantry. Their enemies, the Baglers, gave them their nickname in reference to the wearing of tree bark shoes by the faction's impoverished peasant supporters, but they adopted the name for themselves. In 1184, they brought Sverre of Norway to power, and he defeated the Baglers before dying peacefully in 1202. His son Haakon III of Norway brought peace to Norway, but he was poisoned by Margaret of Sweden, Haakon's own stepmother, in 1204 at the behest of the turncoat Birkebeiner Gisle. The Birkebeiners ultimately emerged victorious under Haakon IV of Norway, who defeated the last Bagler rebellion in 1227 and defeated all opposition to his rule by 1240.